


Hidden Dragons

by thalialunacy



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Ficlet, Gen, Learning Disabilities, Summer Pornathon 2013
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-18
Updated: 2013-07-18
Packaged: 2017-12-20 13:39:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/887909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thalialunacy/pseuds/thalialunacy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Merlin reads books onto tape.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hidden Dragons

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the week 4 bonus challenge at summerpornathon, which was, essentially, Bring Your Merlin to Work Day.

They gets lots of requests for all sorts of books, but in the three years Merlin's been recording for them they've never gotten such a slew of high-level bus-ad texts. It's bizarre, quite frankly.

"Who are these for, Freya?" he asks the lead tech, a student in his department and one of his favourite sassy sopranos.

"Merlin. You know I'm not allowed to tell."

Merlin bats his eyelashes at her and holds out a paper dragon he's just folded during his shift. "Just this once?"

She rolls her eyes. "It's a grad student. In business administration."

Merlin snatches back the dragon. "Yes, thank you. Because I'm too stupid to have figured that out myself."

It's her turn to bat her eyelashes. "I love you, but I love having a job more, and Geoffrey has said he will fire me without a second glance if the privacy of this student is compromised. So go give that dragon to that blonde bloke I keep seeing you eye in the SURC and I'll see you in Vocal Lit."

\---

Merlin doesn't give his dragon to the blonde bloke, thanks very much, but he does manage to give him a two-fingered salute when he cuts--again--in line at the pasta bar. The bloke just smirks at him. Fucking cad.

\---

The next day, he's faced with a textbook on corporate oversight and he kind of wants to kill his mystery grad student. But he'll have to figure out who they are first.

He thinks about it all through Counterpoint. Dr Gaius isn't up to his normal antics, and it's all review, so his mind wanders to the mysterious bus-ad grad student with severe enough dyslexia, or ADHD perhaps, or visual impairment, to need Merlin's team to translate his--her?--texts into the spoken word. Merlin eliminates the blind students after a moment, because he knows all of their names through assisting with testing and delivering documents. And he's pretty sure he knows all the ADHD kids, too, because Elena let it slip once, during an early morning where it was just Merlin recording and her at the front desk, that they're all in the Humanities, and it's not that big of a school.

So that leaves Merlin with a severely dyslexic businessperson-in-the-making who is somehow important enough to merit complete secrecy, beyond the normal level of ADA protection.

Merlin itches with it. He wants to know. He's not sure why. He just does.

\---

"Blonde _prat_ actually told me off for using the Tabasco he wanted. Can you believe it? Spoilt arrogant little prick."

"Merlin, I really don't have time for this," Freya says. And thumps a huge book in his hands. "And neither do you. This student--" She looks around furtively, then lowers her voice. "I will say that this student's father is not anyone I'd want to cross." She straightens. "So get to it, Caramel."

Merlin sighs. He hates the nickname, despite the fact that his voice really is a lot like caramel. He can't hate on her right now because she's just given him rather more information than she thinks she has-- He happens to have seen his boss skulking about with one Uther Pendragon, who is on the Admissions Board, is a Trustee, and is rumoured to have most of the administration wrapped around his pinkie finger.

Merlin's so close to solving the mystery, he's almost sad. What will he do with his time afterwards?

\---

Midway through the book, he has a brilliant idea.

\---

_Freya,_ he writes on the invoice that gets slipped in the book like normal, _if you love me at all, please see that this gets attached to this week's delivery. I love you forever. M-_

And to the sheet, he's clipped a sticker of a red dragon.

Cheesy, yes, and a shot in the dark. But Merlin-- he has a feeling about this.

\---

"Oi, you _arsehole_ , she was standing there first."

Merlin stands his ground as the blonde wanker turns to him, an incredulous look on his face. "Beg pardon?"

"You can beg but you'll get none of it, you sanctimonious, spoiled, pigheaded--"

"Do you _know_ who my father is?" His voice booms and he's stepped very close and a crowd has gathered and Merlin's nearly too distracted to--

"Your father?"

And then he looks down at the prat's satchel, which is open just enough for Merlin to see, peeking out, like a great prize--

The red dragon sticker.

He looks up in horror-- and meets blue eyes that are stubborn, proud, and just a little bit-- ashamed. Merlin suddenly has flashes of what it must've been like, to grow up the son of such a dragon of a man, spending every day fighting against your own brain and the words it just will not put in the correct order, the expectations, the defeat, the hopelessness--

Oh, no, he thinks. No. 

He sticks out a hand, a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. "Nice to meet you. I'm Merlin."


End file.
